Adjustable sign



Patented Dec. 11, 1923.

RANSOM T. LEWIS, 0F ELMIRA, NEW YORK.

ADJUSTABLE SIGN.

Application filed November 15, 1922.

To all toko/m may concern.'

Be it known that I, RANsoMn T. LEWIS, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Elmira, in the county of Chemung and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Adjustable Signs, of which the following isa specilication.

The invention relates to adjustable signs, and especially signs or cards bearing diiferent indicia and intended to be arranged in different positions to give information to tradesmen as to the character or quantity of commodities to be delivered.

ore particularly stated, the invention in one particular form, as disclosed herein, consists in an improved card or sign bearing distinctive indicia, such as different numbers to indicate to an ice deliveryman the number of pounds of ice desired, and provided with improved means for supporting the sign in any one of several diiierent positions to definitely indicate the desired number.

The. characteristics and advantages of the invention are further suiciently explained in connection with the following detail description of the accompanying drawings which show several representative embodiments of the invention. After considering these it will be evident that other variations may be made within theprinciples of the invention, and I contemplate the employment of any structures that are properly within the scope of the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a perspective view of the invention in one form, in one operative position, Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the same.

Fig.`3 is a perspective view of another form of the invention.

Fig. 4 is a section showing a fastening device.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of another modification.

Fig. 6 is afront elevation showing 'a modified form of sign and holder.

Fig. 7 is a vertical sect-ion of the same.

As shown in Fig. l, a rectangular card l of paste-boardV of substantial thickness is provided at the corners with suitable different indicia 2, which are in the present case different numbers to indicate the number of pounds of ice desired, these numbers being arranged so that the. number of any corner arranged uppermost is right side up,

Serial No. 601,018.

and this number being the one most easily read, is readily distinguished as the number constituting the order for the day.

At a suitable point, which is usually at or near the center of the card, the card is provided with one or more narrow slots, and in Fig. l the slot arrangement consists of a slotted cross with the branches arranged at right angles and with the center of the cross in the present instance at the center of the card. Each so produced points bers.

The slots are designed to cooperate with a holding member such as a hook 4t which may be a screw-hook or a drive hook with a straight, pointed shank, screwed or driven into any suitable support, such as a window frame, a porch upright or other available exterior part of a house.v For instance, the shank may be inserted in a wooden up-right 5, Fig. l, or otherwise it may be inserted in a wooden base 6, and the base may in turn be permanently or removably placed on some exterior part of a building. The hook is most desirably one in which the hook portion proper 7 is a straight piece bent at a right angle to the shank 8, and this hook is screwed or driven into the base or support far enough so that the clearance between the hook portion 7 and the face 6 of the support is only slightly greater than the thickness of the card l.

The card is then put in position by passing a straight portion of the cross slot 3 over the hook portion 7, turning the card until the desired number is uppermost and then permitting the card to drop, whereupon thercard will hang in the determined position with the hook shank 8 engaging the upper end of the radial slot portion directed toward the predetermined number. The sign is effectively retained in the determined position by the force of gravity, and is also securely held against displacement by breezes, by the close engagement of the hook shank? with the face of the card. 'This hook engagement prevents any considerable outward displacement of any part of the card and securely retains it in the proper position.

The card'may at' anytime be easily removed in an obvious way 0r may be readjusted to give a different indication by rotating it, whereupon another branch of the cross slot 3 will be engaged with the hook of the four radial slots toward one of the numshank and the card will drop into the new position and will be retained in that position in the manner previously described.

A. variation shown in Fig. 3 consists of a card or base 10 which may be card board or pulp board much thicker than the card ot the previous example. These bases or base cards may be Jfurnished independently of the cards or signs, which are frequently furnished by particular ice companies or other dealers, such as the card 1l bearing distinctive dealers indicia 12. The base card is provided at the corners with distinctive indicia, such as differentnumbers, as in the previous case, and in use the particular dealerscard 11 is secured to the base card 10 in any suitable way, tor example by 'tastenings 13, which may be ordinary paper tas* toners inserted through small apertures in the two cards. For the ready insertion orp the fasteners the base card may have holes previously provided, as at 14, Fig. 4, and the points of the fasteners may be easily pushed through the thinner material of the card 11 and through the holes 141 and secured by bending in an obvious way, as indicated in Fig. t. p

T he base card 10 or the outer card 11, or both ot' them, may be provided with cross slots 3a, substantially like the slot arrangement 3 et the previous example. When the slot arrangement is provided in only one et the cards, it is only necessary to provide another aperture of any sort in the other card to permit the cross slot in the slotted card to cooperate with the hook.

The device as shown in Fig. 3 is operated as in the previous example, the hook in this case not being inserted into the base or support quite so far, or in other words, the hook is screwed or driven into t-he upright or base 6 a. proper distance to give only a slight clearance between the hook shank 7 and the outer face of the combined cards or sign.

Fig. 5 shows another modification in which the sign or card 2O is triangular and is provided with indicia 2 near the apexes ofthe triangle. To correspond with this indicia arrangement the card slot 21 is in triangular form. The operation of this form of the device is readily understood from previous explanations.

Figs. 6 and 7 show another modification in which a nail or large tack 35 is inserted in the upright 5, to serve as a holder for the card instead of the hook previously described. Preferably this holder' 35 is a nail having a head 36 of rather large diameter. To cooperate with this kind of holding device the card is provided with a substantially circular aperture 31 suliiciently large to pass over the nail head. This aperture is arranged to cooperate with slots 3 which may be ofanyot the arrangements previously described, or other suitable ar angements For instance, the slots 3 are in the present case in cross form, as described in connection with Fig. 1, and the aperture 31 is arranged at the intersection of the slots. T he holder 35 is driven into the support so that the head is spaced away from the support 5 linst far enough to provide moderate clearance for the thickness ot the card 30. The card is put in position by passing the aperture 31 over the nail head and then the card is rotated to the proper position and permitted to drop, whereupon the nail shank 37 enters the appropriate slot 3 and the card hangs on the shank in the desired position and is prevented itrom displacement by the large nail head 3G.

lt will be understood from these examples that the holding device tor the card may be a suitable hook, nail or similar device. In any case it has a shank adapted to be inserted in an upright support and an outer portion of considerable length at least in one direction and arranged at an agle to the shank, this outer angular portion being represented in the ase olt the hook by the outer hook member i', and in the case of a nail, Fig. 6, by the nail head 3G, which has substantial length in a. vertical direction above the shank and also in this particular case has a considerable area about the shank tending effectively to prevent outward displacement ot the sign.

It is evident from the foregoing specific examples that other variations may be made.

While cards are in many cases desirably made of paste-board, they may be of any suitable sheet material; for inst-ance, in some cases they may be of sheet metal.

lVhat l claim is 1. An indicating device comprising a card bearing different indicia and having an elon gated slot, a holding member having a shank and an outer portion at a right angle to the shank, and an upright support` the holding member being inserted in the support to provide slight clearance for the card thickness. the shank passing through the card slot and the outer portion engaging the card face to prevent displacement.

'2. An indicating devicel comprising a card bearing different indicia and having intersecting slots, a holder having,r an outer or head portion and a substantially straight right-angled shank, and an upright support, the holder being inserted in the support to provide slight clearance for the card thick ness between the holder head and the support, the holder shank passing through one of the card slots whereby the card is held by gravity against rotation and the head portion engages the card face to prevent ontward displacement.

3. An adjustable sign consisting of' a piece oit .sheet material having distinct-ive indicia in spaced arrangement and provided With elongated slots adapted to cooperate With a holder and to support the sheet Without rotation by gravitational effect, each slot being directed toward one of the indicia.

4. An adjustable sign consisting of a card having distinctive indicia in spaced arrangement and provided With elongated intersecting slots adapted to cooperate With a holder shank, each slot being directed toward one of the indicia.

5. An indicating sign comprising` a polygonal card having indicating indicia arranged near the polygonal angles and having near its center intersecting narrow slots, a portion of each slot being directed toward one of the indicia, the slots being designed to co-operate With the shank of a headed holding member so that the sign may be easily adj usted and held by gravity on said shank in any one of -a plurality of indicating positions.

6. An indicating sign comprising a relatively thick base having different spaced indicia, a card secured to one face of the base in substantially centered relation, the base and the card having substantially central cooperating holder-openings, the opening in one of the parts consisting of intersecting narrow slots, the slot branches being directed toward the different indicia on the base, the slots being designed to co-operate with the shank of a headed holding member so that the sign may be easily adjusted and held by gravity on said shank in any one of a plurality of indicating positions.

An indicating sign comprising a thick polygonal base having different spaced indicia near the tachably secured to one face of the base in substantially centered relation Iand bearing indicia, the base and the card having substantially central cooperating holder-openings, the opening in one of the parts consisting of intersecting relatively narrow slots, the slot branches being directed toward the dii'erent indicia on the base, the slots being designed to co-operate With the shank of a headed holding member so that the sign may be easily adjusted and held by gravity on said shank in any one of a plurality of indicating positions.

Signed at Elmira, in the county of Chemung and State of New York, this 2nd day of November A. D. 1922.

RANSOME T. LEWIS.

polygonal angles, a card de- 

